Executive Briefings

Olympics Has Not Turned Beijing Into Airfreight Center of Note

By: Air Cargo World 10.22.2008

After the glitter of the Olympics, Beijing moved center stage for the logistics sector, but chances of further world records are decidedly slim.With the sporting extravaganza out of the way, optimists had predicted a spike in air cargo demand as factories that had been idle during the athletics event ramped up production to make up for lost business. Indeed, output from the Chinese capital and adjacent areas was up in early September, but operators were unfazed. "There's been a surge since the Olympics ended, but we should have no problem handling it with the capacity that's available," says Giorgio Laccona, chief executive of forwarder IJS Global.James Gagne, chief executive for Greater China at Agility, agreed that the increase in demand should not cause any significant backlogs. "Beijing is a passenger aircraft market," he says.Indeed, Nippon Cargo Airlines suspended its Beijing freighter just before the Olympics and will not resume the service in the foreseeable future. "The market is not big enough to support a full freighter," says Shawn McWhorter, president for the Americas.Source: Air Cargo World

After the glitter of the Olympics, Beijing moved center stage for the logistics sector, but chances of further world records are decidedly slim.With the sporting extravaganza out of the way, optimists had predicted a spike in air cargo demand as factories that had been idle during the athletics event ramped up production to make up for lost business. Indeed, output from the Chinese capital and adjacent areas was up in early September, but operators were unfazed. "There's been a surge since the Olympics ended, but we should have no problem handling it with the capacity that's available," says Giorgio Laccona, chief executive of forwarder IJS Global.James Gagne, chief executive for Greater China at Agility, agreed that the increase in demand should not cause any significant backlogs. "Beijing is a passenger aircraft market," he says.Indeed, Nippon Cargo Airlines suspended its Beijing freighter just before the Olympics and will not resume the service in the foreseeable future. "The market is not big enough to support a full freighter," says Shawn McWhorter, president for the Americas.Source: Air Cargo World